Cast in steel and irony

Metal from company that fostered Bethlehem Steel's demise will arrive at Sands BethWorks next week.

February 06, 2008|By Matt Assad Of The Morning Call

Beginning early next week, a parade of trucks will roll into Bethlehem with roughly 10,000 tons of steel -- and an equally heavy dose of irony.

That's because most of the steel being rushed to the former Bethlehem Steel site to build the $800 million Sands BethWorks casino complex was rolled at Nucor.

Yes, that Nucor. The same Charlotte, N.C., company that revolutionized the use of electric furnaces to make steel from scrap in 1966, the same one that used a svelt force of nonunion workers to undercut Steel's unionized workforce, the same one that Bethlehem Steel didn't take seriously, and yes, the same company that helped put once-mighty Bethlehem Steel out of business.

"What was once the number one site in the world for structural steel getting such a massive shipment of structural steel from somewhere else is obviously bittersweet," said Tony Hanna, Bethlehem's director of community and economic development. "But the bottom line is, this is the future of the site. It's time to move on. It's time to look forward, not back."

Looking forward, steel coming as early as Monday means the arrival of that future remains on schedule. Sands BethWorks President Robert DeSalvio would not talk about the steel shipment before a ceremonial beam-raising event he's scheduled for Feb. 22.

Sands BethWorks construction officials have said all of the steel will come from domestic mills, and most of it from Nucor. They added that if the casino is to open in the spring of 2009, steel must arrive early this month and begin going up by month's end.

Nucor officials did not return phone messages this week.

Steel that was rolled last fall and has been at four fabricating plants the past two months is scheduled to be on trucks on the way to Bethlehem by Friday, city officials were told Tuesday.

The delivery of the steel next week will give Sands BethWorks the 14 months officials say is needed to get the casino with 3,000 slot machines opened on time. A few months later, the 300-room hotel and 200,000-square-foot shopping mall would follow, DeSalvio said.

Staying on schedule is key for Mayor John Callahan, who has pinned much of the city's financial future on revenues from the casino project. In the past nine months, he's watched the 124-acre property go from one covered with massive dilapidated steel plants to one ready to become the city's new economic engine.

"When you look at the enormous capital expenditure being put into that site, just to prepare it, it becomes increasingly clear that this [casino] was the only development that was going to be cost-effective there," Callahan said. "This [steel arriving] is a significant milestone for us. When people see beams going up, the future will seem that much more real."

Still, that the future was rolled elsewhere is a sobering reminder, he said. For decades, south Bethlehem was the only place in the world where developers could get beams strong enough to build higher than about 10 stories.

Bethlehem Steel developed what became known as the wide-flange beam in 1907. It held a monopoly on the patent for two decades and helped build everything from the Golden Gate Bridge to much of the Manhattan skyline.

But in 1966, a tiny company called Nucor began making steel from scrap. As Bethlehem Steel struggled to contend with imports and new competition, Nucor thrived. Bethlehem Steel rolled its last beam on the South Side in 1995, went bankrupt in 2001 and its remaining parts were sold off in 2003.

Meanwhile, Nucor has become one of the nation's largest steelmakers and the only one rolling beams large enough for the casino project, said Jerry Green, United Steelworkers Local 2599 president.

The casino project even has Green looking ahead, not back.

"We don't make steel here anymore, so it's got to come from somewhere," Green said. "We'd prefer it come from a union shop, but at least it's not coming from overseas. It's time to move on and be thankful for the jobs this will create."

If all goes as has been meticulously planned, in less than 18 months there will be a casino complex with 3,000 slot machines, a 10-story hotel with 300 rooms, an upscale 200,000-square-foot shopping center and an events center with up to 3,800 concert seats.

With it comes 5 million visitors, 1,825 permanent jobs and millions of dollars in annual host fees and taxes.

With that in mind, Callahan said those trucks can't get here fast enough.